


All That Counts

by honeybreadbutterfly



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/M, First Kiss, Fluff, Jealous Lydia, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-12-27
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-12 15:03:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,070
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9077938
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/honeybreadbutterfly/pseuds/honeybreadbutterfly
Summary: Lydia and Stiles go to colleges not far from each other, for Christmas the pack decided to meet up in Beacon Hills and play Secret Santa





	

Lydia was in her apartment baking one of her own recipes. Ever since she had left Beacon Hills she had accustomed a liking towards it. It sort of was a science in itself, so Lydia found herself adding some ingredients here and there, soon writing down her own baking creations in an effort no to forget them. She was currently trying a new version of a hazelnut-chocolate-tart. Baking always made her feel a little bit more at home and it made the apartment smell nice, so whenever she didn’t know what to do because she was alone and all done with her work and extra work, she baked.

Technically she lived alone, but well not really. The pack diverted half a year back in July after their finals and graduation. Scott and Allison went off to a college together, that was a little bit further away, but which was offering a great veterinarian program. Stiles and Lydia however chose colleges not far from each other. Their schedules mostly matched, so at some point during the day Lydia would hear Stiles knock at the door and then he’d stay all day until he went back to his dorm solely for sleeping reasons.

Nowadays Stiles didn’t even need to knock anymore since he insisted to get a key about three months after they moved. It had happened on multiple occasions that Stiles had found himself camping on Lydia’s porch for hours because she was out. After a heated discussion that led into the question, why he then didn’t just move in, he said that he couldn’t afford it and after Lydia offered to pay full price, he said it would degrade him of manhood if he let her pay the whole rent. Lydia simply sighed at that and agreed to a key.

Ever since the key, he was there basically all day, apart from lessons and night. He even cooked and cleaned the apartment, he just didn’t sleep there. So basically, he lived there. Lydia was about to take her tart out of the oven when she heard the key turn in the lock. Stiles came in panting. He was covered in snow and his nose looked completely frozen.

“The streets are absolutely frozen, I thought Roscoe and I had to meet our early end out there.” He said dramatically, taking off his jacket and beanie. He went over to the couch where he took his usual position.

“You live five minutes away.” Lydia retorted. A comment Stiles deliberately ignored.

She took the tart out of the oven, making Stiles jump up and run over. He loved her baking creations.

“Is that the chocolate tart?”. He asked enthusiastically trying to snatch some crumbs. Lydia slapped his hand. “Hazelnut-chocolate, yes. And it’s too hot now, you are going to burn yourself. You can have some later.” Stiles huffed disappointed slumping back to the sofa.

He took out his paper on forensic analysis, which he hadn’t finished yet. Lydia was obviously all done for her term already, but Stiles liked to postpone his work further and further until he had to finish it, in this case, four days before Christmas. Lydia in the meantime took out her cookbook again and flipped through the pages. They were going back to Beacon Hills for the holidays and had decided to all meet up on the 21st to exchange their Secret Santa presents. It had been Scotts idea, he thought it would bring them closer together again and obviously no one objected to that. Apart from Malia maybe, who complained that she now had to spend extra money this Christmas season, but after an exasperated eye roll from Kira, she gave in. The two of them attended a college near Scott and Allison’s, where they shared a dorm.

“What else should I bake? Gingerbread cookies or butterscotch scones?” Lydia questioned Stiles who was currently biting his pencil, something he always did when he was concentrated. “Is that a serious question? Butterscotch, obviously.” He answered without even looking up. Butterscotch it was, Lydia decided, taking out all the ingredients. They often spend some hours in silence, when both of them were working, or doing different things. But it was never uncomfortable, it was quite the opposite. They simply enjoyed each others company. Sure, Stiles could have written his paper in his dorm, but he chose to spend his time with Lydia, even if spending time simply meant sitting next to each other in silence, working.

After an hour or so, Stiles sighed exhausted and closed his books ceremonially. “Done. Finally.” He declared walking over to the breakfast bar. Lydia had already placed a plate with a piece of the tart there. “Exactly what I need right now.” Lydia finished cleaning up, her scones still in the oven. Stiles had gone to basically shoving the whole piece into his mouth. He moaned approval to it’s taste. Lydia just shook her head.

“How can you eat it that fast. You can’t even take in all the flavour if you shove it down your throat like that.” She shook her head in disbelief. Stiles said something indistinguishable, which simply made her laugh, because he looked like a ten year old boy.

“When should we leave tomorrow? I’d say quite early, so the streets aren’t too packed.” Stiles swallowed the last bit of tart and nodded. “Yeah, probably a good idea. Should I pick you up, at like eight?” Lydia considered it for a bit. “Wouldn’t it be better if you just crashed here? Get your stuff now, so we’re all done for tomorrow?” Stiles flexed his fingers and relaxed them again. He was a bit nervous. Even though he was there all the time, he had never spent the night, not intendedly at least. It just happened once that he was too drunk to get to his dorm, so he passed out on the couch, but that was different. Now she had asked him. That made it different. The not-sleeping in her apartment seemed like an unwritten rule he didn’t dare cross, but now she had proposed it, thus breaking the rule.

“Yeah ok.” He said in a slightly unsteady voice, his cheeks going red. Lydia noticed but didn’t say anything. “Perfect”.

Stiles left to get all his stuff and returned an hour later with an exasperated look on his face. “Weller is seriously such an ass.” He cursed as he heaved his suitcase into the living room. Kyle Weller, Stiles’ roommate. He hated him. Lydia had never met him, but she had heard tons of stories. It seemed that he was kind of a jerk, towards women and every breathing and moving thing in general, as it appeared. Lydia didn’t even ask what had happened this time, Stiles was going to tell her anyway, so she put the book down she was analysing for the second time and prepared herself for a rant.

“So I like get there, full of snow, frozen to the core. And I was just trying to get some stuff. He was, obviously, lying in his bed, naked again. And he was throwing this stupid ball to the ceiling, you know how much I hate it when he does that. So I ask who’s in the shower, because the door is locked and I wanted to get my stuff and he says he doesn’t know her name, Nancy or Nelly or something. Complete douche. So I ask how long she’s going to take and he brags about how often they had done it that night and that it could take long and whatever. So I’m already done with him two minutes in and then he starts talking about you.” - “Me?” Lydia interrupted.

“Yeah you.” Stiles went on, having already taken off his coat, now sitting on the couch facing her. “So he sits up and starts asking about you. Because he concluded that I’m seeing someone since I’m never in our dorm. He’s had that theory forever. And he totally objectifies you and asks if we’re just fucking, that’s the term he used, so I tell him we are not and you are not an object and-”

Lydia zoned out. She simply smiled because he had defended her even if he didn’t have to. Stiles kept telling his story in vivd detail until he finished his rant, ten minutes later, now out of breath. “And now I need a scone.” He declared standing up snatching a couple from the plate on the counter.

“Don’t eat too many, they are for tomorrow.” Lydia threw in, but Stiles was already balancing seven or so in his hands, one of them in his mouth. Lydia just rolled her eyes shaking her head smiling.

Stiles cooked dinner whilst Lydia packed her bags for the next morning. They had even decided to leave at seven since Stiles was now staying over. They spent the rest of the night talking about the pack and Christmas. They watched “Love Actually” and fell asleep next to each other unintentionally. It was about seven when Lydia woke up.

She opened her eyes sleepily. She had rested her head on Stiles’ chest and he had an arm around her waist. At first she felt completely at peace, smiling to herself. She breathed him in, the smell of his shirt, his warmth. But with a sudden realization she shot up. Stiles woke up with a start.

“Stiles we fell asleep.” Lydia turned to look at the watch in the kitchen. “Damnit. It’s already past seven. Come on, we have to get going, or we’ll be stuck in traffic forever.” Stiles groaned in response. Lydia had already jumped up and ran to her room to collect everything. When she came back to the living room with all her bags, Stiles had fallen asleep again. She threw one of her bags into his lap and he woke up, groaning again. “Come on!” She pressed. Lydia took him by the hand and yanked him up. She gently slapped him on the cheek. “Ow. Okay, okay.” Stiles said fetching all his stuff.

It had snowed a lot over night. They decided to take Lydia’s car, because it would be more comfortable. Even though Stiles complained at first, he soon realized that a two hour drive wouldn’t be too much fun in old Roscoe. To make her car visible again took about ten minutes. Stiles had insisted that Lydia waited in the car, which she obviously didn’t object to. It was a two hour drive without traffic. Since they didn’t have time for breakfast they ate some scones and pulled in to the first rest stop to get some coffee. They got caught up in traffic for half an hour, but it could have been worse. Lydia was asleep most of the time and the rest of the time they listened to Christmas music and kept rethinking if they had forgotten something. Stiles would wake her every half hour to ask if she packed this or that. Lydia always answered with a grumpy “Yes.” thinking that they were acting like an old married couple.

They arrived in Beacon Hills at 10:12. Since Lydia’s mom was out of town until the 23rd, the Sheriff suggested that she should spend the day with them, so when they arrived at Stiles’ instead of driving home, Lydia stayed over. Stiles hugged his father. They hadn’t seen each other in a month. The first thing Stiles did was to call Scott. He wanted to know if they had already arrived, but apparently they’d only make it to Beacon Hills at about two pm. Traffic seemed to have gotten worse.

Stiles and Lydia spent the morning in his room, talking. “You know, Henna. The girl I’ve told you about?” Lydia knew exactly what girl. The smile that had previously been on her lips vanished. She was lying on his bed, with her belly down. She didn’t want Stiles to see her face, so she turned and stared at the ceiling. “What about her?” She asked in the sweetest voice she could muster. Henna. She hated her. Well, she didn’t even know her, but from what Stiles had told her, it was obvious that she had a crush on him. Obvious to everyone but Stiles. She was a girl in his semester. They were in the same lab group. She always sat next to him and kept proposing to go grab a bite after, but he always declined because he was meeting Lydia. The only good thing about this situation. He hadn’t actually said yes yet. But even the thought of Henna and Stiles going out for dinner, made her stomach turn.

Why Stiles and Lydia hadn’t gotten together during their senior year was actually an unsolved mystery. Well to everybody apart from Stiles and Lydia. Allison had kept asking her friend why she didn’t just go for it, tell him how she felt. But Lydia insisted that he didn’t feel like that. It was different now. She had missed her chance, he was over her. And she actually believed that. So every time Stiles mentioned Henna, she got incredibly jealous. In her head Henna was a thin, beautiful girl that looked like a bikini model. It was just a matter of time until Stiles would fall for her, an Lydia couldn’t bear that thought.

“She actually lives quite nearby. Two towns from here. Funny right? She wanted to meet up, but I said I had plans. Which I have, with the pack and you and everything. I just thought it was really funny. It’s such a coincidence.” He concluded spinning in his chair. “Mmmh.” Lydia gave as a response. She turned to her stomach again. “Let’s go help your dad with lunch.” Lydia proposed to stop talking about Henna. She didn’t want to think about her right now. Not at Christmas. She spent a ridiculous amount imagining them together anyway. She didn’t need that right now. Now she just wanted to spend time with Stiles and the Sheriff, enjoying Christmas in the company of loved ones.

They prepared lunch and helped the Sheriff cook. The Stilinski house wasn’t decorated very much, but a few nice touches here and there, made the house feel warm. Lydia decorated the table with everything she found. Baubles, twigs from outside, nuts and so on. She was actually quite happy with how it turned out. Especially the Sheriff saying that he liked it so much he was going to keep it for their actual Christmas dinner made Lydia’s heart light up. That’s what Lydia loved about Christmas. Everyone getting together, for once in the year without, or mostly without, conflict. Everyone telling each other how much they loved each other. Lydia liked the season especially because even her mom and dad stopped fighting. Once a year everything was just calm and nice.

Stiles jumped up from the sofa when he got a text from Scott, saying they arrived. Stiles was all over the place, for a short moment Lydia even thought he was going to cry, but he just grinned instead running up an down. He was already dressed when Lydia got down. He looked immensely impatient. “Hurry up a bit. This is important.” Stiles pressed. Lydia rolled her eyes, shaking her head laughing. She was excited to see her friends as well, after all she hadn’t seen Allison in a month or so herself, but Stiles’ excitement was a whole new level. He had already snatched her keys and seated himself in the drivers seat. He just assumed he was driving.

It was just about a ten minute drive and with Stiles recklessness it might have even been seven. Their reunion was really beautiful to watch. Scott was already waiting outside when they arrived. Stiles didn’t get the car to halt very gracefully, he just jumped out of the car, running for the brown haired boy. They hugged and even though they didn’t cry, you were able to tell the strong bond they had, just from looking at their never ending embrace. “I’ve missed you buddy.” Stiles said. “I missed you too.” And with that it was done. Stiles bent down grabbing a handful of snow and throwing it into the wolf’s face. They ran over the lawn pushing each other, making them both fall into the fresh snow. Whilst the boys were rolling around in the cold, Lydia entered the house and greeted Melissa and Allison. The girls hugged and kissed each other on the cheeks. No snowball fight.

The rest of the pack arrived in the next half hour. Kira and Malia first and then Hayden, Liam and Mason. It was nice to catch up und find out how Beacon Hills was keeping up without it’s Alpha Scott. Since Liam and Hayden were officially pack-less they have had a bit of a hard time. Liam told them about a new pack that had settled in the area around Beacon Hills. They met up once, but it seemed that they didn’t want to fight. They agreed to friendly coexist. They were mostly able to keep out of trouble but here and there their advice was needed. Only the full moons were a bit worse after Scott had left. Simply because they didn’t have an Alpha to ground them. Apart from that everyone was alive and not knee deep in life threatening trouble, which was really good to hear.

Melissa made hot cocoa for everyone and Lydia helped her arrange plates with Melissa’s and her cookies. Once they had all settled down again, the sun had already set and the fairy lights in the McCall living room had been turned on. When conversation died down a bit, Lydia took the chance to talk. “Shall we exchange our Secret Santa gifts now?” Nobody objected, so everyone got their present and placed it on the coffee table. They took it in turns. After one another each one took their present opened it and guessed who it was from, then the person who actually got the present for them confirmed their guess or corrected them.

Malia started. She ripped the wrapping paper off in one bit, revealing a “Handbook to appropriate behavior in social situations”. Her smile vanished and she glared angry through the round. Everyone was laughing apart from Liam. Malia’s gaze fixed upon him. She threw the book directly at Liam, who caught it due to his wolf senses. “I want to switch. I want another Secret Santa.”, she growled. “You haven’t even guessed who your Secret Santa is.”, Kira threw in still giggling. Malia cast her a loathing look, then stared at Liam, her eyes flashing blue. “Liam.” She spit out. Who covered himself behind Hayden. “It was just a joke.” He said in a small voice.

Next was Kira, who’s necklace with a silver fox pendant, was from Lydia. Then it was Scott’s turn, then Allison’s, Stiles’ and then Lydia’s. Her present was messily wrapped, the gold shiny wrapping paper was a bit crinkled and the edges weren’t very neat. There was a letter on top as well. She unwrapped the present first, revealing “The universe in a nutshell” from Steven Hawking. A book she had been talking about restlessly for the last three months. For some reason though, she had never gotten around to buying it. Lydia had a pretty good idea by now as to whom her Secret Santa was, but she wanted to read the letter first. She recognised Stiles’ messy handwriting in an instant.

Dear Lydia,  
you will have guessed by now that I, Stiles, am your Secret Santa. And if my handwriting didn’t give it away, you have just been spoiled by me. Sorry. I wanted to write a letter, because it’s personal and a Christmas present should be personal. There are so many things I’d like to say, but possibly can’t fit into one letter, so I’ll narrow it down.  
You are one of my best friends and I honestly still can’t believe it sometimes. Freshmen year Stiles would freak out if he knew. But I’m not Freshmen year Stiles and you are not Freshmen year Lydia. We are in College and so much has happened, bringing us closer together as friends.  
I’m sure you’ll remember the crush I had on you, Freshmen year, Sophomore year, Junior year. You get the point I’m trying to make. I’ve had a crush on you for as long as I can remember. And I’m well aware that you never looked at me that way. Simply because I’m Stiles and you are Lydia Martin. But you are also my best friend and you have a right to know how I feel. It’s Christmas after all. The time you tell your loved ones just how much they mean to you. And I have never stopped loving you. Not after Malia, not after High School. I don’t want this to change things between us, since I know we are friends and that’s absolutely fine, but I wanted you to know that you will always have a very special place in my heart.  
Merry Christmas Lyds,  
Yours Stiles

Lydia had started crying halfway through the letter. She cleared her throat and stood up, folding the letter and leaving the room quickly. She went outside, to the back porch. She didn’t want the others to see her cry. Stiles jumped up in alert and followed her.

“I really didn’t want to make you cry, Lyds. I’m sorry.” Stiles began awkwardly. She was standing with her back to him. Lydia wiped her tears away. “You are such an idiot.” She said silently exhaling, her breath forming a cloud in the cold winters air. “What?” Stiles asked confused, not sure what was going on. Lydia turned around and all Stiles could think, was that she still looked marvelous, even after she had cried. Lydia walked over to him, but she didn’t stop at a reasonable distance, no she kept walking, now standing an inch away from him. “You are a complete idiot, Stiles Stilinski.” She said again. But before he could even try figuring out what he had possibly done wrong, he was surprised by her sweet lips on his. His eyes fluttered closed. It took him a second to realize what was going on, but as he did, he buried his hands in her hair, pulling her closer. Lydia pushed Stiles into the wall behind, kissing him even more intensely than before. When they broke apart Lydia smiled because Stiles expression resembled awe and utter confusion in same amounts.

“I, ah .. what?” Was the first thing he stuttered. “Why?” Was the next. Lydia sighed. “I’ve been in love with you since Junior year, but it took me forever to realize. And then we went off to College and you kept talking about Henna, so I figured you didn’t like me that way anymore.” Stiles laughed at that a bit. “Henna? Clingy, weird, obnoxiously obsessive Henna?” He blurted out. “You must be crazy. She doesn’t even come close to you. You two are not even on the same scale.” Stiles clarified chuckling. Lydia giggled a bit, eyes suddenly misty again. This time Stiles stepped forward, lifting her head and kissing her. Slowly and carefully, really taking in every part of this moment, hoping it would never end, hoping that it would live forever in his memory.

When they broke apart again they just looked at each other. Really looking. All their emotions pouring out of their eyes. They just smiled. Lydia gave him a quick kiss again. “Should we go back inside? It’s really cold.”, Lydia asked. Stiles nodded and led her inside. When they came back into the living room, everyone looked the other way pretending to investigate the ceiling and walls and floor. “You guys have been listening, haven’t you.” Stiles asked, his hand still firm on Lydia’s back. Kira coughed, but Allison couldn’t stop staring at her friend grinning stupidly. “Yeah we have.”, Liam blurted out, not being able to lie. Stiles rolled his eyes. “You are unbelievable. Never heard the word privacy before?” He asked, but Lydia didn’t care. Even though everyone else had heard what she had said to the whisky eyed boy, she really didn’t care, because for the first and definitely not last time, Stiles had heard it as well.

And that was basically all that counted.


End file.
